Intel hires former SK hynix chief Seok-Hee Lee to lead Intel Foundry advanced packaging

Intel has appointed Seok-Hee Lee, former CEO of SK Hynix and SK On, as executive vice president of Intel Foundry, taking charge of advanced packaging, system integration, and backend technology develo... Read original →

Intel’s recruitment of ex-SK hynix CEO Seok-Hee Lee signals a decisive bet on advanced packaging as a strategic fulcrum. Technically, her expertise in HBM and TSV yield could accelerate EMIB-T and HBI to challenge TSMC’s CoWoS dominance, especially for AI workloads demanding tight logic-memory integration. Geopolitically, heterogeneous integration offers a compliant workaround amid tightening EUV export controls from the U.S. and Europe. TSMC will likely double down on CoWoS capacity and deepen ties with Taiwan, China-based suppliers, while Samsung may pitch I-Cube more aggressively to hyperscalers like Amazon. Within 18 months, advanced packaging will shift from a performance enhancer to a contract-deciding factor—Intel’s ability to reliably deliver HBM-on-logic by 2027 could crack TSMC’s stronghold in AI infrastructure.